Never send a read receipt — This choice instructs Outlook Express never to acknowledge that you read an email containing a read receipt request; you will not even know that a read receipt came with the email.

Notify me for each read receipt request — This is the default option: Outlook Express will tell you that a read receipt request came with the email you are reading, and ask you if you want to send back to the email sender a read receipt confirmation.

This last option has a sub-option: "Unless it is sent to a mailing list and my name is not on the To or Cc lines of the message": if checked (it is by default), Outlook Express will not send read receipt confirmations when an email is not directly addressed to you (if a read receipt confirmation was in fact requested).

So How Should You Handle Read Receipt Requests?

There are no significant technical overheads in choosing one option over the other; we prefer, and would recommend, choosing to let Outlook Express put you in control (second option). Few enough email senders request read receipt confirmation, making it feasible to decide whether to honor the request or not on an individual case basis.